A Beautiful Lie
by TrulyShadowKissed
Summary: “Bella, everything’s going to be okay.” His voice was gentle as his slightly trembling hand came up to lightly cup my cheek. But I knew what this proclamation was. It was nothing more than a beautiful lie.


**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Inspired by the 30 Seconds To Mars album.**

**A Beautiful Lie**

"Bella, everything's going to be okay."

His voice was gentle as his slightly trembling hand came up to lightly cup my cheek. But I knew what this proclamation was. It was nothing more than a beautiful lie. As I stared into Edward's eyes and saw the sadness engrained deep within their depths, I knew. We were _not_ going to be okay.

The car had spun out of control. I could blame the weather and I could blame myself, but in the end, what did it matter? The bottom line was: We were not going to make it through this alive.

It was Thanksgiving night. We had just spent the perfect day eating and laughing with our closest friends. They had made a beautiful spread. Turkey and mashed potatoes, green beans and cornbread, everything you could ever think of. It had been a wonderful day. The perfect end.

Anyone with any common sense was asleep by now. We had stayed later than we should have, but our friends, the only family we had left, had asked us to. They had news to tell us, and what news it was. Even as the crippling pain crept through my body and the smell of blood, both his and mine, filled my senses, I could still feel wonder and happiness for our beloved friends.

They were getting married. It had taken 5 years, a bought of cancer, and a bottle of celebratory whiskey, but they were finally doing it.

Jasper had been diagnosed with lung cancer at the young age of 21. That had been a little over 4 years ago. Jasper had never smoked a day in his life, but his parents had.

His parents had been an unhappy pair, but they had been unhappy _together_. They had loved each other, and Jasper, in their own way. They had died in a car crash during Jasper's first year of college, kind of ironic given our current circumstances.

Jasper had wanted to wait until he was in recession before he finally pulled out the diamond ring that had been sitting in the back of one of his drawers for longer than any of us would care to think. He told us that he had known Alice was 'the one' since the moment he met her. He had bought the ring the day after he was diagnosed, proclaiming that if he made it through the cancer, he'd make her his wife. He hadn't wanted to propose while there was a chance that he was going to die. He had adamantly claimed that Alice, at the age of 19, was too young to be a widow. Jasper was now 25, Alice 23, and both happily engaged.

It was good to know that even though Edward and I wouldn't be getting our happily ever after, that our friends would.

We had left their house over an hour ago. Edward and I lived in the city. We both loved the fast paced life the city provided, how there always seemed to be something happening. Jasper and Alice were through with the hectic tempo. They had been in and out of hospitals for years and just wanted someplace they could settle. They had just bought a house together not long ago. It was in a quiet suburb about two hours away.

We had decided to drive the scenic way home. It was past dark outside, but we were in no hurry. It had been snowing and there was ice on the road. Even with our snow chains, it was getting pretty difficult to drive. We had been going around a turn when we hit the black ice. We had gone spinning off the road. I had tried to correct the wheel, but it was too late. We had been thrown down the hill and had crashed into a lively oak. It was almost sad to see something so old, and so beautiful, be destroyed.

Thankfully we had both been wearing our seatbelts, so we hadn't been thrown through the windshield, but that's not to say we weren't in danger. Every window in the car had shattered, the glass falling like rain upon our bodies, cutting our skin like hot ash. The entire front end of the car had been demolished. The crunched metal had me pinned to my seat. I could see the blood pooling around my leg. I didn't feel any pain, and for that I was thankful. But also worried. It couldn't have meant anything good that I couldn't feel from my waist down. I started to get light headed, from blood loss I'm sure.

I glanced over at Edward and he seemed to be barely hanging onto consciousness. The cut along his cheek seemed especially deep and I didn't like it one bit.

I mustered all the strength I could and tried to call out to him.

"Edward."

My voice seemed far away, even to myself. The words hurt as they left my mouth. It felt like someone was running razor blades down my throat.

Edward made no move at my voice and I was getting worried. I tried shifting in my seat and a tingly feeling erupts through my body and up my spine. It felt like thousands of ants were crawling up my body and a shudder ran through me, making the feeling worse. I worked though the odd sensation and slowly made my way closer to Edward. I tried to ignore the increasing size of the pool of blood at my feet, but somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew I was dying.

When the metal restricting my leg wouldn't allow me to move any further, I reached out to him. The only thing my fingers had made contact with was his shoulder, but it was enough.

Edward jerked forward, as if waking from a dream. A pained moan had left his lips and I hoped to never hear it again. Judging by out condition, I hadn't been able to decide if it was more likely I would hear it again or die before it could leave his lips for a second time.

I had tried to think positively, but my lack of contact with him had made me anxious.

"Edward."

I said his name again, thankful that it had hurt substantially less than it had the first time.

He looked my way, and I watched as a plethora of emotion flashed across his face. Shock. Confusion. Panic. And lastly resignation.

"Bella."

His voice was so disheartened, and the smooth, melodic voice I had come to know was rough and guttural.

I hated seeing him so distressed. I didn't know how much time we had left and I wanted to be able to feel him one more time before it was too late.

"Can you move?"

I asked him as gently as I could, but he still flinched as if the mere thought of movement as an accomplishment was too much for him to bare.

"I think so."

He sounded uncertain, and I began to fear that I wouldn't be able to give him a parting kiss.

He experimentally moved one of his legs and I cringed at the sound that escaped his lips. It wasn't the dreaded moan. It was worse. It was almost like a pained whimper and I hated the sound with every fiber of my being.

It was irrational but, at that moment, I hated this car more than I had ever hated anything in my life. More than Monday mornings. More than rainy days. More than those awful Japanese films Edward loved so much. More than anything. I would gladly sit through all of Edward's awful movies for the rest of my life if it meant having more time with him.

He moved his other leg and the whimpering continued. He slowly made his way to my side of the car and my soul sang as his hand rested on my cheek.

"Bella, everything's going to be okay."

I let out a sigh of relief as I finally felt his skin upon mine. His smooth skin took away all thoughts of death and pain and all I could do was remember all of the times he'd touched me in our lifetime.

We have been together for longer than I could remember. We must have been around 10 when we met. He was nothing more than a straggly boy then. I smiled as I remembered how awkward he used to be. His legs had been too long for his body at the time and it caused him to stumble more than a normal person should. Even then, he was at least 6 inches taller than me.

I had been the shy girl and he had been the new boy. We bonded over a peanut butter sandwich and hadn't been separated since.

I realized I loved him, really truly loved him, at the age of 16, but was too afraid to say anything. _Did he feel the same way? What if it didn't work out? Would it ruin our friendship?_

All my fears were put at ease on my 17th birthday. Thankfully he was braver than me. He told me he had a surprise for me. He had looked nervous all week and it was starting to rub off on me, though I can't say I wasn't also excited. He took me to the playground where we first met. He is such a romantic, so sentimental. He had stumbled through it a bit, but he had gotten his message out.

I had been so happy. I had jumped on him right then and there. I had wrapped my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. He stumbled under my weight but didn't drop me. His arms had quickly made their way around my thighs, keeping me in place. The intimate touch had sent me flying as I clutched him in a vice grip.

He sat down at one of the picnic tables with me still wrapped tightly around him. We had stayed there all day, even as parents and children started filing in. After the hundredth disapproving look, we stood from the bench. He had gently lowered me to the ground and we had played around like we had so many years ago.

What I remember most was when I had sat on one of the swings, feeling like a giant in world of miniatures. He had stood behind me and pushed me as I sailed through the air. Higher and higher I went, my hair blowing in the wind. I had felt so free at that moment, physically and emotionally.

We had been together for the last 7 years, happily co-existing and basking in the glow of our eternal love. The exciting rush of young love had never left us. Everyday together felt like an adventure.

It was sad to know our voyage was coming to an end.

Edward was still attempting to drag himself over the center console. He was so close and I wanted nothing more than to feel his broken body against mine. I shifted myself closer to the door, trying to make room for him next to me. The unpleasant tingling feeling returned but I tuned it out. I used my hands to push at my useless legs. It appeared that the bleeding had slowed, but not by much. I tried my best to move them as little as possible while still allowing room.

I felt the seat sink the tiniest bit as Edward finally succeeded in moving across the console. Our sides were pressed tightly against each others as the seat was in no way meant to hold two.

We had no way of knowing how long we'd been here. The car had died on impact, and I was grateful for small that. I had no idea how much more time I had left, but I didn't wish to be watching the clock as I felt the life draining from me.

Edward carefully swung his right leg over my useless ones, letting it rest in my lap. His other was bent at the knee near my back. He was tucked into my side, seeing as I couldn't move. I was touched that he was comforting me even as every move likely caused him pain.

His head rested on my shoulder and his arms laid loosely around my waist. He whispered quiet exclamations of love in my ear, saying how much he loved me and how beautiful I was. He told me stories of our olden days, and made me smile.

My head became increasingly fuzzier as his voice lulled me into a calm. I was fighting against my eyelids as they drooped. I knew that if I fell asleep, I'd never wake up. I knew I could only fight it for so long and there were a couple of things I wanted to say before that happened.

"Edward. I need you to listen for a moment, okay?"

My voice was nothing but a ghost of what it used to be.

He simply nodded his head. I could feel it against my shoulder. I slowly eased my head to the side so I'd be able to look into his beautiful eyes as I said my final goodbyes. His eyes seemed duller and I instantly missed the sparkle that usually made him seem so lively.

I sluggishly brought my left hand up, twisting my now aching body as I went. I rested it on his uninjured cheek and rubbed my thumb over the slight stubble on his jaw. I hummed in contentment as my eyes fell shut. I sat and just relished in him for a moment as I pulled my strength together.

"You know I love you, right? You're my everything, and you have been since we were 10. I just…I just need you to know how much you mean to me. I wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you. Maybe have some kids. The works. We could have even gotten that dog you always wanted."

His eyes seemed to sparkle again as he smiled at my last comment.

He tenderly ran his fingers through my hair as he stared at me affectionately. I lent forward and brush my lips against his. They were cold. Who knows how long we've been out here? But they were as soft as ever. I kissed him once, twice, three times, before I backed away.

I surveyed his face, likely for the last time. I lent forward to place a kiss to his left cheek, then right. He slowly eased his finger through my soft tendrils as I laid my head against his shoulder.

I allowed my body to relax and I drifted into unconsciousness. The last thing I heard before it all went back was a whispered, "I love you."


End file.
